A note from our CEO & Board ChaiR

As we begin to emerge from the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, we have set our sights on new horizons, laying the groundwork for the future while also celebrating our many successes! This fiscal year has been a testament to our resilience and adaptability, as we invested our time and energy into new initiatives while examined and improved existing ones.

We are excited to have initiated the planning process for Cota’s next strategic plan, which will chart our path forward as we recover from and move beyond the pandemic. We look forward to the exciting projects and possibilities that lie ahead.

We hope you enjoy reading about this past year!

Sincerely,

Paul Bruce (CEO) and Leah Dunbar (Board Chair)

Facts & Figures

Total Service Users 2022-23

People Served by Population

People Served by Service Type

Pilot Project: 250 Davenport Road

In April 2022, Cota launched a 12-month pilot project at 250 Davenport, a Toronto Community Housing site, identified by Public Health as housing a tenant community in high need of support. Our goal: to provide an on-site team to act as single point of contact for individual support coordination and community development. 

Cota’s on-site presence has enabled the development of trust and relationship building with many marginalized and vulnerable tenants, which has been identified by staff and partners as key to effectively engaging and supporting them with their various needs. We've become the go-to for tenants, offering harm reduction supplies, system navigation, housing and eviction prevention supports, and play a key role in food security initiatives in the building. We also foster community engagement and development via various themed group activities related to social recreation, wellness, safety, employment, and tenant leadership.

Our team is on-site five days a week, Monday to Friday, from 10 AM to 6 PM, and our supports are available to anyone residing at 250 Davenport. We work closely with TCHC and Tenant Community Leaders, serving as the main support service at 250 Davenport.

Looking ahead, we are encouraged by some the positive trends we are seeing in relation to personal support being requested by individual tenants and increased engagement across the broader tenant community. We're excited about the progress made and eagerly anticipate building on this momentum in the coming year. We're committed to continuing our support and collaboration with tenants and TCHC and are pleased to share that the City of Toronto has agreed to fund the pilot for a second year! 

APSW Program Launch!

Cota’s Adult Protective Services Worker (APSW) Program is a provincial initiative and was introduced as a program at Cota in April 2022.  This service, funded by the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services (MCCSS) Toronto Region saw us hire three (3) full-time Case Manager-APSWs.

Cota’s APSW program was of particular significance, as it marked our first significant expansion within the Developmental Services sector since our Transitional Aged Youth (TAY) program which began in 1986!

Cota’s APSW program is part of a broader MCCSS investment and is intended to support individuals with a developmental disability with a focus on living more independently and inclusively in their community. For us, this investment represented an exciting opportunity to assist people with lower support needs who may not be prioritized through existing service connections and Multi-Year Residential Planning processes.

The goal of the Cota’s APSW Program is to assist these individuals to develop a plan to find and retain housing, assist with increasing independence with certain life skills, support them as they transition to their new home, and to ensure wellness and housing stability.

Our program supports individuals who are residing with aging caregivers and desiring to live more independently in the community. Although successful transitions to independent housing have been difficult to arrange due to scarcity of affordable housing, we are happy to report that these individuals have benefited from being able to receive some service.

Many individuals have shown gratitude towards the case managers for making them aware of resources and assisting them with such things as enrolling in educational programs, employment programs, meaningful day activities, counselling, navigating housing applications and assistance with entitlement programs such as ODSP and passport funds.

Website refresh

In November 2022, we excitedly unveiled our redesigned public website cotainspires.ca. This new site features a fresh look and feel, simplified navigation/menu options and was designed with accessibility top of mind to enhance the user experience for everyone.

With a more intuitive organization of pages that better showcases Cota's diverse offerings, all of program descriptions and referral information are now easily available for all to see!

Click any of the following links to visit the page:

• Mental Health Services

• Acquired Brain Injury Services

• Developmental Services

• Who We Are

collaboration with st.jude community homes

In late winter 2022, St. Jude Community Homes (SJCH) approached Cota regarding a possible collaboration in relation to a new affordable housing initiative at 292-296 Parliament St.

SJCH was applying to become the building operator at the site, which the City of Toronto had acquired to create a 24-unit deeply affordable and supportive housing site for people experiencing chronic homelessness. The building offers self-contained studios, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom units, each equipped with a bathroom and kitchen. Shared amenities include laundry facilities, communal spaces, and areas for programs.

SJCH wished to explore the possibility of working with Cota to arrange referral and support arrangements for some of the people who would become tenants. Cota enthusiastically accepted the invitation and worked collaboratively with SJCH to develop an agreement in relation to ten (10) of the units, six (6) for clients of Cota’s Assertive Housing First Team (AHFT) and four (4) for individuals living with a dual diagnosis linked to the developmental services sector. 

By the fiscal year's end in 2023, four (4) AHFT clients had secured housing, with the remaining two (2) referrals were nearing the final stages of securing tenancy. Tenancy for the four (4) individuals living with a dual diagnosis will occur in fiscal 2023-24.

Feedback from Cota's service users has been overwhelmingly positive. SJCH’s regular engagement with Cota's AHFT team, including liaising and general support, ensures continuous assistance for the residents. The AHFT case management team diligently provides support with medical appointments, access to primary care, identification procurement, budgeting assistance, and food resources.

Residents are thrilled with their new home at 292-296 Parliament. The secure, fully renovated building offers a shared common space for social activities and a rooftop deck during summers, fostering a positive atmosphere. One resident even expressed a strong commitment to staying in spite of their name coming up on another housing list, showcasing the program's impact.

According to Oriana, the Manager of our AHFT East Team,

“Myself and the entire AHFT team are committed to providing supports to our service users and working collaboratively with St Jude’s in order to achieve the best possible outcomes for our service users."

Safe Bed program Site Acquisition & Renovations

After an exhaustive search, Cota finally secured suitable a space for our new Safe Beds Program in the winter of 2022. The site, located on the Danforth in East York will become home to an important new service offering short-term accommodation and dedicated 24/7 on-site support to homeless adults living with mental health challenges and co-occurring justice system involvement.

Once the site was secured, renovations swiftly commenced to transform it from a former restaurant into a dedicated space for the service. The revamped space will include five (5) self-contained rooms with ensuite bathrooms, a communal kitchen, private counseling areas, and an inviting common space.

Despite encountering various obstacles in the early stages of the renovation process, the dedicated team behind this project is persisting in their efforts to bring this vision to life. They are working hard to ensure the new service will open by December, 2023.

We look forward to opening this service in fiscal 2023-24.  Stay tuned for further updates on this significant endeavor!

Expanding our MCIT Case Management Program

Cota’s MCIT Case Management Program is responsible for providing short-term follow-up support to individuals referred after an initial interaction with a Mobile Crisis Intervention Team (MCIT), provided they've consented to receive our support. Once involved, we work with individuals to assess immediate risks and to help them to create personal safety plans, identify priority goals, and connect to other community-based services for ongoing support.

Originally established in October 2019, this service was initially developed through a collaboration between Cota, Toronto Police Service, North York General Hospital, and Humber River Hospital. In July 2021, Cota received additional funding to expand the program to the provide follow-up supports to the MCIT service associated with Scarborough Health Network.

Further expansion occurred in fiscal year 2022-23 through funding support from OH Toronto enabling us to begin receiving referrals from the MCITs associated Michael Garron Hospital, St. Michael’s Hospital, and St. Joseph’s Health Centre. To accommodate this expansion, three (3) new MCIT Case Managers were hired, enlarging the team to five (5) members.

Throughout fiscal year 2022-23, the MCIT Case Management Program supported 166 individuals, extending assistance and referring them to longer-term community-based services. Here's a breakdown of the types of community resources and services our team has connected individuals to:

relocation & Reopening of our ABI Adult Day Service

Cota’s Acquired Brain Injury Adult Day Service (ABI ADS) provides an engaging environment for individuals to partake in meaningful group activities, fostering skill development, personal growth and serving as an important foundation for individual recovery and community integration.

After relocating to 626 Markham Rd. in Scarborough, Cota’s Adult Day Service resumed in-person operations in September 2022, marking a highly anticipated reopening due to its consistently high demand and waitlist. The service continues to benefit from the contribution of a Personal Support Worker (PSW) provided by Scarborough Centre for Healthy Communities. The addition of PSW role enhances our ability to offer personal care aid, such as toileting and feeding assistance to some participants, thereby creating enhanced access for prospective participants who require these types of supports.

Cota’s ABI ADS offers a variety of group sessions catering to various interests and personal goals, including gentle fitness, brain fitness, cooking, arts, and current events discussions. The facilitators develop different group session offering throughout different quarters of the year, adapting to changing seasons—such as a summer walking group.

Among the offerings, the less structured Wednesday program stands out and is proving very popular! This self-directed day allows individuals to pursue activities of their choice with staff support. The Wednesday drop-in session has gained significant traction, providing a supportive space for socialization through recreation and leisure activities like such as games, art, cooking and physical activity.

For individuals navigating life post-brain injury, Cota’s ABI ADS space offers solace and understanding within a supportive community and the sessions are often pivotal for building relationships, alleviating social isolation, and fostering social skill development.

Preparing for Our Next On-Site Accreditation Survey

Cota is presently holds an Accredited with Exemplary Standing designation with Accreditation Canada. Our affiliation with Accreditation Canada plays a significant role pushing us to continuously assess our practices in relation to identified best practices.

We are actively preparing for next on-site survey which is scheduled for late April, 2023 are excited to showcase the dedication of our team and the quality of our services.

Beginning OUr Strategic Planning Process

Cota has initiated a stakeholder engagement and planning process in relation to the development of our next strategic plan. With the assistance of an external consulting firm, we have conducted a comprehensive environmental scan and held a number of employee and service user focus groups throughout January and February 2023.  These activities have assisted Cota’s Board of Directors to gather valuable insights and perspectives as they consider what strategic ambitions Cota should strive for in the coming years. 

We would like to thank all of the people who participated in the various focus group sessions. Your experience and input has significantly enriched our planning process.   

We are aiming to finalize and release our next strategic plan by the end of June, 2023.

our Funders & Formal Collaborations

Fred Victor

Habitat Services

Hong Fook Mental Health Association 

Humber River Hospital   

Mainstay Housing

Michael Garron Hospital

North York General Hospital

Parkdale Community Health Centre

Scarborough Centre for Healthy Communities

Second Harvest

St. Joseph’s Health Centre

Unity Health

Toronto Community Housing Corporation

Toronto Paramedic Services

VHA Home HealthCare

The Neighbourhood Group

Vita Community Living Services

West Park Healthcare Centre